Thursday, December 31, 2015

Thursday and the Breakfast Club

This is the morning when some of us meet at Eggberts for breakfast. The past two breakfasts I attended, my food was cold. Today I will tell the waitress and ask her to be sure my food is hot..or I will not be coming anymore. I can't see paying for cold food...especially breakfast.

I slept like a log last night. I stayed in bed until 5:30 this morning too. I have fed Missy and given her fresh water. I also had a cup of Chia. I will have my coffee at the restaurant.

This is the revised pie chart provided by politifact which includes social security. My contention is social security is self funded. Those of us who worked all our lives, paid into it and funded our retirement. If the past governments had not dipped into it continually to pay for other programs including the Vietnam war, there would be plenty of money in the fund. And think of all the benefits that are not being paid because the supposed recipients are deceased.

There has never been any change in the way the Social Security program is financed or the way that Social Security payroll taxes are used by the federal government. This question comes from a confusion about the way the Social Security Trust Fund is treated in federal budget accounting.

Starting in 1969 (due to action by the Johnson Administration in 1968) the transactions to the Trust Fund were included in what is known as the "unified budget." This is sometimes described by saying that the Social Security Trust Funds are "on-budget." This budget treatment of the Social Security Trust Fund continued until 1990 when the Trust Funds were again taken "off-budget." But whether the Trust Funds are "on-budget" or "off-budget" is primarily a question of accounting practices--it has no effect on the actual operations of the Trust Fund itself.




 This different pie chart can be found on politifact.com.

I also have something to say about the charges against Bill Cosby.  I don't justify his actions by any means but I also say the women did not need to go to his private home/room and subject themselves to the chance for abuse. They knew they were at risk when they took the pills he gave them and then drank wine. Give me a break! All women can use their own common sense about putting themselves at risk with a stranger...regardless of how famous that person is.

More later....

The breakfast was cold again and this time I told the waitress about it. She took it back to the kitchen and had it warmed up.

I went out to Walmart afterward and bought $40.00 something worth of groceries.   Then  I came home and warmed up the cornbread and beans.  Bob came over and we ate those and the other french vanilla pudding and the last two cookies.  I need to bake cookies again.

More even later....

I read all afternoon and then later on Bob came by  to watch the news. He left at 7:00. He is fighting a bad cold.

 I took my bath and watched TV for awhile before going on to bed.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Wednesday Already

I slept well again last night and didn't get up until 5:30. For me, that's late.

I checked my e-mail after I dressed and made my bed. I have a notice of the new schedule from Leslie but she didn't attachment the schedule.  I have notified her. She had a horrendous weekend on call last weekend. Every time I talked to John she had come in and was immediately called back out.  I have no idea how many times she had to leave. Luckily, John is very good with the girls....and the puppies....all 11 of them plus the three adult dogs.

I fed Missy and myself and took some hamburger out of the freezer to thaw. I meant to put it in the frig last night..but forgot.  So I am thawing it in a plastic bag this morning. We will have hamburgers and french fries. Bob is going to invite Dennis too.

Lunch turned out fine Dennis came too. He has lost his job and is looking for another. It will be an uphill battle this time of year. Plus, he dropped out of high school years ago and never got a GED. Nowadays most people want at least a GED. I have tried to provide him with leads for jobs listed online but so far, he has had no luck.

Bob came back over in the evening until 7:00 and I watched Nature and then a TV show on healthy food that was being aired on PBS.

Then I went to bed at 9:30.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Tuesday and Snow on the Ground

I don't know whether I will be able to get to Independence this morning or not. It's the day for my hairdo.  I will have to wait until the sun comes up to see how the street conditions look. I don't think Bob is all that crazy about going.  I'm not sure I should go by myself since the tenth street (the county road) bridge is being  replaced and we have a couple of alternative routes up there. One is a gravel road...which I would not attempt with snow and ice on the road. The second is Sunflower Road, which is a county road that is paved. But it is clear across town and a long way off. If it's clear, I'll take it. Thank goodness for cell phones.

I slept well last night...better then usual. I had quite a bit of indigestion yesterday. Tums takes care of it but still I have never been troubled with indigestion before this past few weeks. It's probably the mileage. :) Or perhaps the M & M Peanuts. :) They are gone now so I'll see if that helps.

More later....Missy is waiting patiently for her treats..

O.K., I've had my breakfast and coffee and am waiting for daylight  to assess the chances of my being able to get to Independence safely. It's still dark out so I can't tell yet. It's just shortly after 7:00 but it's getting there. I just checked sand my new amount for Blue Cross/Blue Shield came out last night. They raised the premium $35.11 in one year. Now it's nearly $300 per month. Usually it's about a $10.00 raise each year. Insurance is a racket.

Bob just texted me that he is too tired this morning to come over.  He must not have slept well.  If he can't come for lunch, I will take him some corn bread and beans.  I soaked them overnight and they are cooking now in the slow cooker.

More even later...

I made it to Independence on the Sunflower Road. It had been cleared and was fairly clean. I still drove 35 miles per hour. There was very little traffic. I left here at 8:00 for a 9:00 appointment and got back at 9:45. I got my hair done and came straight back home. I left the beans cooking in the slow cooker and they are done. I added the onions and turned them down to 2. I will fix the cornbread in a little while....closer to 11:10.

Missy is lying here behind me on the daybed napping.

More still later....

Bob came at 11:20 and we had our beans and cornbread for lunch.  Then I went to Braum's and got my milk and to Orchelens for wild bird seed. I think it's about time I start feeding the birds again. With the snow on the ground, they may have a hard time finding food.

More even later...

I filled the bird feeder and the birds flocked to eat from it.  It never did warm up. But the rain did finally stop.  I finally found the top to my trash can but never did find the flowerpot. It must have blown a long way away. I will have to buy another one in the spring.

Bob came over this evening and stayed until 7:00. After he left I took my bath and stayed up until 9:30.


Monday, December 28, 2015

Last Sunday's Sermon "Develop Disciples to Serve"



In this passage from Luke 2: 41 – 52, Jesus is a 12 year old. At 13 a Jewish boy became a man and he was approaching that point in his life. He had come into an age of responsibility and accountability. As we read the scripture, we sense the tension that accompanied the learning curve on this particular journey.

It is the festival of the Passover—a time when Jewish people remembered they were once slaves in Egypt and God brought them out of slavery (Deuteronomy 16:12 and Exodus 13:3) and that God spared their firstborn from the 10th plague. God commanded the “children of Israel” to keep Passover so they would never forget (Exodus 12:14).

Jesus traveled with his family to Jerusalem for Passover. It was a journey they made every year so this was not a new adventure for Jesus. It was a common event. He knew his way around the town and the temple. His parents had little or no concern about him in the larger company of family and friends. As Passover ended, they joined the caravan to head home. At the end of the first day of travel, they realized Jesus was not with them. They hurried back to Jerusalem and spent three days searching for him. They found him in the temple sitting with the teachers, learning and astounding those around him.

Jesus surprised his parents by not letting them know where he was. They were concerned. They spent three days looking for him! He, on the other hand, was surprised that they were concerned and didn’t know he would be in the temple. His comment to them was “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” It is the moment when Jesus began speaking for himself; pointing himself in the direction his life would take.

This story of Jesus highlights the importance of preparing oneself and learning in a place where the sacred is spoken. Jesus went into the temple and sat with the teachers to learn and discuss. The scriptures tell us Jesus went to the temple to learn and teach not only when he was 12 but throughout his life. And because of this, “Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor” (Luke 2:52). As disciples of Jesus we are also called to lifelong learning, spiritual growth and service to others.

This vision is based on the three movements of Jesus’ ministry on earth. 1) Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God; 2) he taught people how to live; 3) he ministered to the needs of those around him. This week I want to say a few words about developing disciples. 

Sociologists Peter Benson and Carolyn Eklin concluded from their study of over 500 churches that: “Only a minority of church going adults evidence the kind of integrated, vibrant, and life-encompassing faith congregations seek to develop disciples to serve. For most adults, faith is under developed, lacking some of the key elements necessary for faith maturity and to develop the initiative to want to be of service. ” If we are to believe their research, we would have to conclude that somewhere along the way the church at large has neglected one of the most important commands of Jesus. 

And what is a disciple? A disciple is a person whose life, purpose and practices are shaped by another. A disciple is a learner, one who follows a teacher. So, a disciple of Jesus is a person whose life, purpose and practices are shaped by Jesus and his message but also by his example. A disciple is a person who strives to learn from Jesus, to grow to be more like him.

And truth be told, there are as many Jesus’  as there are disciples of this remarkable first century figure.  Regardless of how faithful one is to the portrayals of Jesus by any particular denomination or tradition, no two people understand or relate to Jesus in exactly the same way. This is one of the reasons the Bible includes four different versions of the story of Jesus’s life.  

One thing most New Testament scholars agree on…and they don’t agree on much…is that Jesus’s main aim was the kingdom of God…...not some saccharine vision of a future in heaven, but a clear political statement about the here and now. 

They say, basically it’s pretty simple. It means just asking ourselves what this world would look like if God sat on Caesar’s throne.  What would a divine instead of an imperial program look like? What would a divine budget look like?  So “kingdom of God” is a way of saying Rome is not the kingdom of God. Rome thought (since Caesar was divine and it had a kingdom) that it must be the kingdom of God. What Jesus was saying, sort of “in your face” is “Rome, you are not the kingdom of God. You’re not even the will of God”. and “You’re not even close”. 

Over and over again, the Gospels ask us to choose our allegiance. Whose kingdom? The evidence we have about the identity, actions, mission, and vision of Jesus varies widely and wildly depending on the source and the theological filter. At best, one can speak of the “lives” of Jesus rather than the life of Jesus.  The complexity and radical nature of Jesus’ message for the world in which he lived, are critical in understanding how we might live as followers of Jesus today.  The problems of our worlds are not that different. There is still prejudice, hunger, a wide disparity between the rich and the poor, and vast injustice.  There is a lot a disciple can do. 

Jesus wasn’t seduced by power and privilege. Jesus practiced a lifestyle and commitment of servanthood and what I call “downward mobility” that contradicts the allure of “upward mobility” that is so pervasive in our culture today, defining significance and status through wealth, materialism, fame and power.   Jesus was best exemplified by his self-proclamation of “I am the good shepherd.”  He was both tender and gentle and yet also fierce in his pursuit of Justice. Jesus didn’t just speak of these things…he demonstrated them in how he lived, how he loved and how he welcomed the stranger, the marginalized, the leper, the widow, the prostitute and the sick. And he confronted the religious leaders of his day.

That’s why we must keep asking the important questions of “Who are we following?” and “Where are they leading us?”

Our vision as a community is to develop disciples. We will strive to do this by encouraging our members and friends of the church to take responsibility for their own faith growth as well as empowering them to encourage others to grow in faith. The church will provide opportunities like Sunday school, small group studies, retreats; and workshops which are targeted at helping us develop an “integrated, vibrant, and life-encompassing faith and…. sharing that faith through action.”

Ultimately, developing disciples is a relational experience, not an instructional or classroom experience. It is the influence of one life on another in the midst of the difficulties of life. It is an influence that helps us face our personal darkness and grow in our reflection of the image of Jesus.

Writer Greg Ogden put it this way, “Developing disciples is an intentional relationship in which we walk alongside other disciples in order to encourage, equip, and challenge one another in love to grow toward maturity in Christ. This includes equipping the disciple to teach others as well.”

One Methodist minister some of us know said he attempted to share some of the things he learned in seminary with his congregations. Every time he did, he was moved. Some people simply do not want to know. 

Marcus Borg speaks of various stages people pass through as they develop an appreciation of the Bible as metaphor. For example, as young children we interpret the Bible with what Borg calls a “pre-critical naivete” in this stage we believe what we are told and never give it another thought. 

As we get older, we move onto a stage of “critical thinking” in which we unpack our understanding of the world and toss out what we recognize as false….such as the tooth fairy and the idea that you can break your mother’s back by stepping on a crack.  Many get stuck in this stage of “critical thinking”.  Then there’s a third stage that Borg calls “post critical naivete”. That is demonstrated by the capacity to recognize the truth in the biblical stories, even though you know that their truth does not depend upon their factuality. And even though you are pretty sure many of them are not historically factual. 

But that's not the important thing.  The important thing is that we have mission. That's what disciples do. And we need to be open to life changing revelation from historical scholars who spend their entire lives and careers studying for the truth.

I have often said I did not want to be a part of a congregation of pew sitters.  If our congregation did not have mission, I would not be in church.

Monday and Rain, Rain and Perhaps Snow.

I slept in awhile this morning. It was cold in the house.  When I did get up, I decided to wear a sweater. It is supposed to snow today too. Right now it is still raining and we are under flood warnings.

I will probably just stay home today. I don't like cold weather. I hope the roads will be passable tomorrow for my hair appointment in Independence.  If not, I will wash it myself. It is warm here in the apartment. And I have had a cup of coffee and oatmeal and orange juice for my breakfast.

I took Missy out briefly when I swept the leaves off the carport. She did not like the cold and the cold wind. She stayed out less than ten minutes.  Now she seems content to just stay in here and huddle on the floor.

We will have chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad and a veggie for lunch/dinner. I still have two pieces of pecan pie for our dessert.

More later....

It is sleeting now and very slick out. This is the time of year when I am happy to be here with a carport over my car. Bob texted me awhile ago and his car is covered with ice. I will probably go pick him up for lunch/dinner. He lives only four blocks away but with his heart condition, he has no business out there scraping ice off his windshield.

More even later...

I went to get Bob while the chicken was cooking and it was snowing right down then. We had our lunch and then I took him home. He wanted to check his mail and also see if his Blue Cross/Blue Shield had come out yet. He will also take a nap, I imagine.

I just stepped outside and took a photo of the snow. This is looking out my back door toward the neighbor to the east. You can see my bird bath and flowerbed. Luckily, while it was warm last week, I pulled up all the flowers...what was left of them after a couple of freezes and put them in the trash barrel. I watched a video Karan loaned to me last month. The snow gave me an opportunity to stay home and watch it. It was very funny. I think it was called "My Mom's New Boyfriend." It was very funny and entertaining.  Bob dropped over to see the last of it. He did not stay because the weather is so uncertain.  Now I am watching the news.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Sunday and Church

I hope we will be able to get to church this morning. It rained hard all day and night. If we go by the Dearing way, we may find the creek out of it's banks. Maybe we will take Woodland.  I slept well though because the rain always puts me to sleep. I awoke several times but managed to get right back to sleep.

I got up and dressed then went out in this cold rainy weather to pick up the paper. Brrrr. After I got my coffeecake in the oven, I read the paper.  Now it's about to get it out of the oven.  When it's cool, I'll ice it.

I will be speaking this morning at church but I'll be surprised if there are more then six there. Generally we have from 15 to 20. Two days after a major holiday, everyone has house guests. When I have house guests, I invite them to church. :)  I hate to miss church. My week is all off when I miss church.

We must have had a heck of a wind with this rain.  I had to retrieve my trash container. It had blown down the yard. It's still blowing hard out there and is cold.

The coffeecake is out of the oven and now cooling. I will ice it in a bit.

More later...

O.K. I got the coffeecake iced...way too much icing but they can scrape it off.  I also went over my sermon (talk) for the morning service.

Bob has come to read the papers. I texted Marilyn about going to church and she said she had slept right through the alarm and could not go this time.  Maybe next time.

We took the little girls to Sirloin Stockade at lunch time. They eat pretty well there because they anticipate the ice cream machine. :) They are 3 and 5. ..and cute as a button.

I came home and did my congregational newsletters and went to the market to buy stamps.

Bob came over in the evening to watch the news. After he left at 7:00 I took my bath, put my PJs on  and got ready to sit in the recliner with Missy. I went to bed at 9:30.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Saturday After Christmas

I slept fairly well. My back hurt part of the night and my left leg hurt enough that about 4:00 I got up and drank some eggnog and took a couple of Aleve.  My hands hurt a good deal of the time. I don't know if they will ever recover from the library job. Finally I just got up.

This morning Bob will come by and we will go to Sirloin Stockade for breakfast. It's become an every Saturday morning routine. I don't know what I will do after that since the Christmas decorations are already put away. I would like to go to Bartlesville and check out the sales but I really shouldn't spend any more money.  My Blue Cross/Blue Shield hasn't come out yet.

It's supposed to rain all weekend and perhaps even snow some. This is Kansas and the weather is extremely changeable.

Missy is patiently waiting for me to finish this so she can have her treats and some "fresh" smelling cat food. I will get back to this later...

Well, I got Missy fed and had a cup of coffee and tried to do the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. I got most of it finished.

I am also doing a load of laundry.  I just got it into the dryer.  It feels good to have the apartment all clean and neat. I do need to clean off the top of the frig. I tend to just stick stuff there to get it out of sight. I have almost an hour before Bob comes to pick me up.  Maybe I can get that done. The storage in the dining room is all neat and organized with my decoration boxes all labeled. I'm glad I kept my Keurig boxes this past year. They were just the right size.

More later...

We had our chili at noon and also a piece of my pumpkin pie. I've read all afternoon. That makes me sleepy so I am now looking at my e-mail. Soon I will give Missy her treats and have some yogurt myself. 

I preach tomorrow at church so I'd better be looking at my sermon. 

Friday, December 25, 2015

Friday and Christmas Day

Well, Christmas is finally here and my little party last night was a success. The little girls were more interested in opening their gifts then eating so I have quite a bit left. I'll take it out to John and Leslie's when we go out for Christmas dinner at noon.

I woke up late..around 6:00 and got a late start on my pies. The second one is in the oven now. I made traditional pumpkin and a pecan pie too.

While I am waiting to take the shield off the pie crust, I will get some of my photos downloaded to this computer so I can get them here on my blog. I still have to make my Waldorf Salad but one project at a time. This was my table before we started eating last night. 

This is my grandson, Jeromy.

And this is the girls..opening their gifts.

The one nearest the camera is Cheyenne who is three going on four,and the dark haired on is Maia, who is five...going on six.

Here are some more of my photos.

This is my daughter and son-in-law enjoying some goodies.

This is my son-in-law, John, watching his granddaughters open gifts.

There are the girls busily opening gifts.

That's my daughter and her son, Jeromy cleaning up after the girls.

Jeromy still putting away wrapping paper and bows.

Jeromy figuring out one of his gifts...probably electronics. Notice his KSU hat. That's where he graduated. Kansas State University.

This is the little critter I bought for Cheyenne. She immediately hugged it.

This is my brother-in-law opening the gift I bought him. It's a hairdryer that attaches to the wall in the bathroom.

This is John, my son-in-law showing Maia how to work one of her gifts. John is a great grandpa. He loves those little girls and does anything for them.

This is my daughter, Leslie. I don't know what she is doing here but I finally got a photo of her so I am using it.

Anyhow, it was a really good Christmas Eve.

More later....it's time to take the last pie out of the oven.

The salad is ready now and in the frig.  Both pies are in the carriers. I couldn't find the sling for the Tupperware one. For some reason, it is lost. I hope we don't drop the pie taking it in. We are leaving at 11:00 for John and Leslie's home in rural Independence. We eat at noon.  There will be 11 of us.

More later...

We had a great dinner. Leslie really outdid herself with the help of Cyndi. Cyndi is a great cook too so between the two of them, They really fixed a great meal. My pies turned out well and most of the salad was finished off.  I left the rest for them.

I spent the after dinner time cleaning up and realized I had completely forgotten to take any photos. 

After I cleaned up we all went out to look at the puppies...all 11 of them.  I got Bob home about 2:30 and then came in and made room in my frig for the stuff I brought home. Bob was as tired as I was and he will probably take a nap this afternoon.  I don't know if he will be over this evening or not. He was awfully tired.

About 3:00 or so I decided to put away the Christmas decorations and tree. I was just finishing boxing everything up and labeling the boxes when Bob came in. It was close to 5:00. We watched TV and had some eggnog until 7:00 and then he went home and I took my bath.  I went to bed about 8:00.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Thursday and Christmas Eve

Tonight will be our gathering as a family to open gifts and have snacks. It will be held here at my apartment.  When I get everything ready, I will try to remember to take a photo. I cleaned yesterday so the place is ready. I am going to fix chili for our lunch today and we will have Freetos and cheese (and crackers) with it. We will have an unhealthy day. :) We will drink Coke with the chili.

I slept fairly well last night. I had left a couple of Tums beside my bed on the night table and before I went to sleep, I chewed them up. For some reason, if I eat anything heavy or have popcorn at bedtime, I get indigestion.  This just started  a couple of weeks ago.  The Tums seem to work though. I had had caramel corn last night while Bob was here.

It's raining today. I had hoped it would wait until after the Christmas weekend but it moved in early.  At least it's not forecast for Christmas Day. We are fortunate  not having tornadoes like Mississippi had last night.  I understand 6 people were killed. What a terrible Christmas it will be for those families.

My Christmas Cactus Leslie gave me some years back, is beginning to bloom.

Isn't that neat? Right at Christmas time too.
There's another view.I hope it finishes blooming this week. I re-potted it a few months ago and both plants have grown like weeds now that they are no longer root bound.

More later....

I am so pleased. One of my friends who struggles was given a Christmas gift of a free membership to Bart Ehrman's Blog.   Ehrman is one of the foremost Bible historians. He reads several ancient languages and is able to make some remarkable discoveries that way.

My chili is ready and I am just keeping it warm until Bob is ready for lunch.

My family is coming tonight at 5:00 this evening...which is probably a good thing since the deer are out in force and my son-in-law has a brand new truck. We will enjoy goodies and candy and open gifts. Bob is making his pumpkin bread. I have candy, cookies and eggnog to serve. I know the two little great grandchildren will be thrilled. I will try my best to take some photos. I even laid my camera out. They are the cutest little girls.

More later...

How about that! I did remember to take photos while the family was here. I will try to get them downloaded to the computer later this morning.

Meanwhile, I'm going to bed. It's 9:00 and I am very tired.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Wednesday and a Busy Day

I slept well last night although because I took a nap yesterday afternoon, I kept waking up thinking it was morning.

I started with my bedding laundry and towels this morning early. Then I cleaned both the bathroom floor and the kitchen floor.  After that I vacuumed. Then I remade the bed.  After the apartment was clean, I went to town and left my empty print cartridges at the library and then stopped at the health food store to get my whole pecans for my pie Friday morning. I will also bake a pumpkin pie. Then I will do my Waldorf Salad.

Today, I have decided to have tuna cakes, baked potatoes, veggies and applesauce.

Tomorrow I will fix chili with scoops and cheese.

Tomorrow night we will have gift opening here. I will serve eggnog and goodies. Bob is making his pumpkin bread and I have cookies and candy. That should be plenty. As far as I know, my grandson Jeromy and Marlene, his wife, and the little girls, Maia and Cheyenne, will be here too besides John and Leslie. Bob is coming, of course.

 Friday, of course, we will go to John and Leslie's for Christmas dinner. I will take the salad and pies.  I am all ready for Christmas. Bob's daughter, Denise and her daughter, Deanna, will be there besides Cyndi and Jeff. It will be a houseful. That will be 11 of us.

Then sometime right after Christmas, I will put away all my decorations. When it's over..it's over.

More later....

I am very tired this evening. I did a lot of work today  Tomorrow afternoon I will get everything ready for the Christmas Eve get together,  I will put my red tablecloth on and get out some of my crystal to serve.  I have Candlewick dishes for the pumpkin bread and cookies and the candy and some nice glasses for the eggnog.

Right now I am getting ready for bed. Missy and I have been watching Nature and Nova on PBS.  We are both tired.  

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Tuesday and Hair Day

I go to Independence to get my hair done today. Bob will visit his 92 year old sister, Betty, while I balance Juanita's checkbook later this morning. Then we will eat at Great China or Big Cheese. Tomorrow I will clean house, change my bed and cook. I haven't decided yet what to have for lunch/dinner then. I need to go through my cookbook and decide.

I slept pretty well last night. I did get up at 4:00 AM. I was wide awake.  Missy got sick on the carpet last night and I found it this morning and cleaned it up. There were three different places. She must have overfilled her stomach. I was able to just pick it up with Kleenex. I will put some carpet cleaner on the area.

I am going to have Christmas Eve gift opening here at the apartment. I will bake some treats and also have eggnog. I have some cookies and even some peanut clusters ....although not many. I gave most away for gifts. I may make some more for Thursday evening and also for my Living the Questions group.  I'll see how the time goes. I will need a few more tins if I do that. I'll play it by ear.

More later...

By the way...want to buy a beautiful car? This is my son's car.  It's for sale. A 2013 Mustang...fully loaded! Sale $16,500.




I did go to Juanita's and didn't have a bit of trouble getting her bankbook balanced,  Afterward Bob and I went to great China for lunch. He brought some home. I nearly finished mine. Bob has decided to make the banana nut bread from Thursday night. He has the ingredients.

I bought a small poinsettia for Juanita for Christmas. She gave me a box of chocolates. I will enjoy them Thursday evening too. We have been friends since she was 80 and now she's 92.

More later....

It was mild this afternoon so I took advantage of it to dump all my spent flowers off the carport into a large trash bag. Then I drug it over to the trash container and pulled the container over on it's side and pulled the bag into in and then tugged on it to get it upright again.  I swept off the carport and then went around to the flowerbed that John, my son-in-law made for me and cleaned it up too.  I'll take a photo of it tomorrow after I clean the house and do my laundry.

Bob is here now and we will watch TV this evening.

He left early and I took my bath and watched the rest of "Prohibition" on PBS, before going on to bed at 9:00PM..
   

Monday, December 21, 2015

Monday and Laundry Day

I slept like a log last night. We had our Living the Questions group meeting at Joyce's last night and stayed until almost 9:00 visiting following the DVD viewing and comment time.  When I got Gary and Bob delivered home, I came home and took my bath and sat with Missy for an hour in the recliner and watched TV.  Then we both went to bed. I had gone to the market and bought everything I needed for Christmas dinner and also my print cartridges. Keith had fixed my printer and computers and mail program and Leslie had printed off the class newsletters. My kids had fixed everything.

Bob just texted me to see if I am among the living.  I assured him I am and told him my plan for the day. I have the laundry in the washer now and will wait until tomorrow or Wednesday to strip my bed and do that laundry.   I may clean today as I usually do on Monday if I get all those letters in the mail early.

I decided to just eat out today and I treated Bob. I gave the meatloaf to Karan and Bobby. I had those letters to fold and insert in envelopes so that took some time..

Yesterday afternoon I took a tin of peanut clusters over to Marilyn and sent some home with Bob. I have just a bit left over. I may fix that for Wayne and Merrill, my ex landlords. Wayne is 95 and pretty frail.

Tomorrow I will go to Independence to get my hair done and Juanita has her bank statement, so I will balance her checkbook and then we will eat at Great China or Big Cheese before coming home.  Bob can visit with Betty, his sister.

More later....

I got it all finished before lunch and we ate lunch/dinner at Sirloin Stockade.  Now I have put away my one load of laundry and Bob is doing his one load.

While I was out at Leslie's this morning my great granddaughters were there too and they were looking at the puppies. They are three and five.  The Corgis are two weeks old and the mixes are one week old. They are all so cute! The Corgi's eyes are open now. John has fixed a place for each litter in the Garden House. He has built a screen wire area for each family and they will have a door in the front door for the moms to go in and out.  They have put a little radiator heater in there to keep them warm.

More later....

I talked to Leslie this evening and the family are all coming over Thursday evening to open gifts.  I have bought two half gallons of Braums eggnog today in anticipation of it and will make some banana nut bread and I still have some cookies and peanut clusters.  I will clean house on Wednesday and change my bedding too. The apartment will be nice and clean for the occasion. 

I watched Apollo 10 for the first time in years tonight after Bob and I watched The Christmas Carol.. We ate some popcorn and I had some Chia and my yogurt.  He had hot chocolate.  Then when he went home I took my bath and sat in the recliner as usual with Missy. She loves that.

Better get to bed. It's after 9:00 and I have my hair appointment in the morning and while Bob visits his sister, I will balance Juanita's checkbook.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Sunday and Church



I finally got to sleep last night about midnight. I had way too much on my mind. I will need to go to Walmart this afternoon and get more cartridges. I ran out of ink after about 7 letters. I will buy a double cartridge with two multi colors. I will have to do all the printing from the desktop since I was never able to get the laptop to print. Then I guess I will do about 10 a day until I get all 70 done. There are four pages in each letter printed on both sides.  Those that went out in e-mail appear to have opened all right. I've heard back from five or six recipients. I sent out 71. I will probably also have to get more stamps before all this is finished.

I will do the congregational letters first. Communication is very important to attendance.  People need to know they are missed and they need to be kept informed about what is going on in the congregation....whether they attend or not.

Scott called last night and I was too distressed over the computer/printer situation to even carry on a decent conversation with him. I hate that.

This morning I had my juice and coffee and the last cinnamon roll. Not too healthy, I know.

Last night I heard a mower going and thought that perhaps Betty, our landlady, had sent her nephew to mow all those terrible leaves. I went to the door and looked and what do you know! It was Kenny, the manager of the apartments next door. He had his large Dixon mower out there and was mowing over and over again to mulch the leaves in the front of the fourplex.  That was really nice of him...an early Christmas gift.  I will send him a Christmas card and thank him for that.

This photo is my older son, Keith and his wife Esther. They are so happy. I thank God they found one another.

 


More later...

My son, Keith (above with wife, Esther) is a genius with computers and hardware as well as software. He fixed my computer/printer problem with about 30 minutes...start to finish.  I am so blessed to have him! For many reasons...this is just one of them.

My daughter volunteered to print off my letters with her printer which collates everything. She has that finished. Now I just have to drive up there and pick them up tomorrow and then get them in the mail.

My kids are terrific! All of them!.    


Saturday, December 19, 2015

Saturday Breakfast and then on to Chanute for Lunch

This morning I will have breakfast with Bob. I will pick him up at 7:20 and we will go to Sirloin Stockade for breakfast. Later, around 11:00, we will leave for Chanute to have a fish lunch with Tony and Gay. They have the rainbow trout John, my son in law, gave us some months ago. I was unsure how to cook it and it was frozen solid so I sent it home with Tony and Gay. Tony is a fisherman too. He is also a great cook. In their household, Tony does the cooking. It will be good to see them. They are caregivers for Gay's 98 year old mother and rather housebound. Every once in awhile Gay says she needs some "girl time" and I drive up to Chanute. It's about 50 miles. Well within my driving range. Gay is the friend I have had since I was 17 and she was 14. I am now 80. So as you can see, that is a long, long friendship.

I slept really well. I had had a very busy day. I went to town for cinnamon rolls at Utopia mid morning and visited with friends over the table there. Then I put together my meatloaf for lunch and set the table. In the afternoon after lunch I made my peanut clusters and put them into tins for friends. I want to remember to take some for Gay and Tony.   I gave one tin to Karan to give to Bobby M.  He is beginning to show symptoms now of his brain tumor. He was not feeling well the past two days. ....very un-Bobby like. Tragic! But life is full of tragedies. .....

More later....

We had a great lunch at Gay and Tony's and I had every intention of printing off the class newsletters when I got home and getting them into the mail. That didn't happen. First the printer would not work from either computer. and when I finally got the desktop to print, the laptop would not.. I never did get it to work. The desktop computer program keeps "not responding" when I use it awhile. Word quits responding and greys out. The mail program does the same thing.  I rebooted a couple of times to try to get it fixed but that didn't happen. I'd like to use the laptop to do this but now it won't print. I don't exactly know how I will get the newsletters done. I sent 71 of them out by e-mail and I still have 70 or so to send by snail mail.

Computers! Bah Humbug!

Friday, December 18, 2015

Friday and Up Early

I got up about 4:00 AM this morning. I got to thinking about the two pies I am baking for Christmas dinner at John and Leslie's and the Waldorf salad I plan to make as well. I did not get the makings for any of that at Walmart yesterday so I will need to do that before Christmas.  I need to look up my recipes and make a list of ingredients.  Also, I need to make my traditional peanut clusters this week for the tins I bought earlier. I usually would have those made by now. I am slowing down. I am giving one tin to Bobby and one probably to Marilyn R. I thought about that and could not get back to sleep.

Bob came by and ate some popcorn last night after his stint as a Salvation Army bell ringer but did not want to stay for the video of The Christmas Carol. He was cold and tired. We will watch it tonight or I will watch it alone.

We are supposed to go to Tony and Gay's in Chanute for lunch tomorrow. We will have breakfast at Sirloin Stockade first as usual. Today we will have meatloaf for lunch and the rest of the scalloped potatoes. I will fix a veggie and I have Bob's salad from yesterday in the frig with saran over it. I also have more pudding and cookies. That will be today's lunch. I took the rest of the three meatballs from Leslie over to Marilyn R's. with some of the scalloped potatoes. That was to have been her supper. I will also take her some meatloaf after lunch.

Sunday evening we are having Living the Questions at Joyce's at 7:00. I will need to pick up Bob and Gary for that. 

Sometime next week I will go back out to Walmart and get the ingredients for my part of the Christmas dinner. I need to make a list. Walmart is closing for Christmas at 2:00 PM on Christmas Eve.

Leslie contacted Denise (my niece and her cousin) to invite her and Dee (Denise's daughter) for Christmas dinner. I am supposed to ask Bob. Denise is to bring Braum's eggnog and Bob is to bring a relish tray. Jeff and Cyndi are coming too and Cyndi will bring food too. ..a dessert and perhaps veggies.

Maybe I can get my peanut clusters made this afternoon after lunch.

More later...

Lunch was good and after lunch I got my peanut clusters done. They are cooling and setting up right now.  I thought I had bought two tins for them but all I could find was one. I may check out the dollar store and see if they still have them. If not, I will have to make a run to V&S Variety and see if they still have them.  When they set up, I will stack them between sheets of waxed paper.

The parking lot at the Dollar General Store was full so I went back to V&S variety and they had some. I bought two more.  I got two filled before I ran out of candy. I may make some more later on and fill the other one. I want to take one to Tony and Gay tomorrow and give another one to Marilyn R.  or Bobby. Bobby is not feeling well today. I don't know whether he would want candy or not.  I guess I will ask Karan.

This is Bobby and Karan.

You can't see Bobby. I may find another one that shows him.
There he is! She said he wanted it! She is coming to pick it up! Bob A. came over this evening for popcorn and a Coke. We watched brooks and Shields analysis of the news but he didn't want to stay for the video so he went on home. I took my bath and sat in the recliner with Missy in my lap as usual and then I discovered that The Christmas Carol was on TV so I sat and watched it with Missy. Then I went to bed.


Thursday, December 17, 2015

Thursday and a Doctor's Appointment

I don't think there is any particular reason for me to go back to Bartlesville to see Dr. Eslicker this morning but this is my annual checkup so I guess I will go. Bob wants to go with me.  So I will pick him up at 7:30. My appointment is at 8:30. The last time I went, Dr. Eslicker found a small skin cancer on my face and took it off. So, since I spent my misspent youth sunbathing, I imagine I should go.  :)

Then I will come home and put those meatballs in the oven and add some milk to those scalloped potatoes and warm them up in the microwave.  I'll add a veggie and ask Bob to bring a salad. I have pudding and cookies for dessert so we are fixed! Thanks to Leslie!

This afternoon I will put together the meatloaf and set it back in the frig.  Then tomorrow I will bake potatoes and put a veggie with all that and we will have some more of Bob's salad. I bake that meatloaf in the microwave. We will have that on Friday.

I slept well last night. That's probably because I had such a wild day yesterday. I got up about 4:30. I was afraid if I went back to sleep, I might oversleep. So I just got up. I don't have anything planned for this afternoon so I can rest up then.

More later....

Those meatballs and scalloped potatoes were wonderful! I took the little we had left over to my neighbor, Marilyn R. and she was delighted too.  I kept some of the scalloped potatoes and we will have them with the meatloaf tomorrow with a veggie and the rest of the salad. I also have some pistachio pudding and cookies for tomorrow's dessert.  Our veggie was peas.

Anyhow, I am doing the blog and Bob is reading the newspapers. Since I spent so much time gone yesterday he didn't have an opportunity to read either of them. 

Oh yes, my daughter's new mom Corgi, Mini, is having problems keeping up with her 5 puppies.




She just gave up and rolled over.  Poor thing!

Bob has gone to ring the bell for Salvation Army. Afterward if he comes back, we will watch The Christmas Carol. It's part of my Christmas tradition. If he's too tired afterward we will watch it another evening.

By the way, Dr. Eslicker's physician's assistant took some early stage basil cell cancer off my left ear. It will probably get sore. She told me not to sleep on my left side until it heals. It's not even sore now.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Wednesday Again

I slept very well last night! The house was cool so maybe that had something to do with it. Anyhow I feel rested.

I have been working on my Christmas cards. I don't send out many but I refuse to quit sending them out. Last evening I printed off the envelopes for my class newsletter. When I finally get it finished, I will try to send it out as an attachment to e-mail to those classmates who have e-mail. I will have to send it out one at a time because it's eight pages long. Even at that, some may not be able to open attachments.

I have one classmate who remarried last May and she wants to contribute to the newsletter so she is holding up my being able to get it sent in time for Christmas.  Maybe I'll send her a Christmas card and remind her.

Today I will just piddle around. I have the apartment clean, have most of my Christmas cards and Christmas letters done. Maybe I will get the cookies made at last since I have no other plan for the day.

More later...

Sure enough. I got peanut butter cookies made and Bob came by and had a cup of coffee and  a cinnamon roll. Then he had a cookie. He will be back shortly for lunch. We will have the chicken tetrazzini again and applesauce with a veggie and mixed fruit with banana for dessert. We will also have a cookie or two. :)

Tomorrow we will have meatloaf and baked potatoes with a veggie and salad. Maybe we will have pudding and cookies for dessert.  

More even later...

We did have our chicken tetrazzini for lunch and I had just enough left to take to Marilyn R with a biscuit.  We had a short visit.

About 3:00  my daughter called. She had made up her sweet and sour meat balls and had too many. She was having a staff party. And she wanted to give me the rest.  I quickly took Marilyn her dish and took off for Leslie's. I got there about 3:30 and then she had some scalloped potatoes she also wanted to share with me. So, I got the sweet and sour meatballs (which I will bake this noon) and scalloped potatoes. I will put a veggie with them and Bob can bring a salad.  We will have pudding and cookies for dessert. We will have the meatloaf tomorrow with baked potatoes, a veggie and some more salad.  Then we will have the rest of the pudding and cookies. Wow! I will have lots of food to share with Marilyn R. too.

I had looked at our Wal Mart and the extra large Wal Mart in Bartlesville for cranberry colored cloth napkins. Neither store had any. While I was eight miles from Independence when I left Leslie's, I decided to give their Wal Mart a try. So I drove on to that store and what do you know! They had them! So now I have four. I had bought the last two at our Wal Mart a week or so ago.

Time was flying by this time and I had agreed to meet Marilyn L at the Presbyterian church at 5:00 to help her set up for the PINCH meeting. By this time it was almost 4:00 and I still had to drive back to Coffeyville and put that food in my frig. Luckily, I had already put the party perk in the car and my fancy crackers for the meat and cheese tray Marilyn was bringing for the meeting.

I got to the church at 5:00 and helped Marilyn put together the room we were going to use for the meeting. The meeting, which was to be an hour long, turned into two hours in length. Then I stayed to help Marilyn clean up. I got home at 8:00 or soon after and took my bath and placated my annoyed cat by sitting with her in the recliner until 9:00.

Whew! I was exhausted! So I went to bed.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

A Very Busy Tuesday

Today at 8:15, I will pick up Bob and we will go to Independence to deliver our cakes and then I will take him by his sister, Betty's home so he can visit her. I will go get my hair done. After we are finished, we will go back to Bartlesville so we can eat again at Pies and Such.  They have great sandwiches that are made with homemade bread...toasted. Then their pies are out of this world!  Anyhow, I don't know what else we will do while we are there....probably nothing. He gets sleepy in the afternoons since he takes a nap. I may just come on back home and begin addressing envelopes for the class newsletter for those who are not online.

I slept well last night. I did wake up about 4:30 and just got up. Just lying there is nothing I like to do.

John and Leslie's little dog, Speck, had her puppies yesterday too. I haven't seen them. I saw on facebook that they were being born. Speck is a cross between a rat terrier and a jack russell.  Hoover is a registered Corgi. So they will be a strange mix.  He impregnated both Mini (who is also a registered Corgi) and Speck, a half breed.  Maybe I will stop by and see those puppies too.



Here they are. I took this photo off facebook where Leslie posted it. She says at this point Speck had four and wasn't finished yet. She ended up with six. We did stop by to see them before we went on to Bartlesville.  They are so cute!

More later...

We had a good lunch at Pies and Such.  Then we went shopping at their Wal Mart in Bartlesville. I finally found a nice looking wreath for my dining room storage door.  Bob bought a belt.

We came home and I spent the afternoon addressing envelopes for my class newsletter. I addressed 78 envelopes with my computer.  So 78 people will get an eight page newsletter from our class members.  The others will get one attached to e-mail.

Bob came over this evening.  We watched the news.   

Monday, December 14, 2015

Housecleaning Monday

Well, it's started. I have cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors and am almost ready to vacuum. I have a load of laundry in the dryer to fold out first though. I also have my cake baked and it's on the rack cooling now. I will ice it later.

Mondays are always busy.

I need to go to the market after awhile too. There are three or four things on my list. I need some of them for my lunch. We are having  Chicken Tetrazzini today for lunch.  Bob will bring a salad and we will have a veggie.I have some spaghetti but not four ounces. I also need green onion, mushrooms and sliced almonds. I have the rest. I want to get some mixed fruit for dessert too.

I slept well last night. I awoke the second time at 5:15.  I think I got up twice in the night briefly.

I am looking for a good study for our Church School class. If I find a good one, I will buy four or five books for us to share in class. I like one called Living the Questions but it's pretty progressive for some of our people. (it's just right for me though) :) I found one called "Saving Jesus from the Church...How ro Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus".  We will check it over Sunday. It's by Robin Meyers. We have studied some of his books in the past.

More later....got to get busy!

I got my cake iced. And the others brought me theirs.

I got everything done and even had Marilyn L over for lunch. I did some more shopping this afternoon. I was looking for Christmas napkins but couldn't find what I was looking for.  I settled for some I had had for awhile. The cloth ones I wanted for my cranberry colored tablecloth were gone at Wal Mart. I bought the tablecloth online since it's so hard to find a 60 inch round tablecloth. I have three now for the round table. One is green, one is cranberry and one is tan. That should be enough for awhile.

Anyhow, I was also looking for some Christmas place mats but was only able to find one. I would like to have found two but I waited too late.

My Christmas cactus is beginning to bloom. I took some photos of it and will post them here. Leslie gave that plant to me for a gift a couple of years ago.

This one shows the blooms well. They are just starting.

This is a better view of the entire plant.

More later...

We invited Marilyn L over for lunch. We had a good visit.  The dinner went off well. We will eat that meal again Wednesday.  We had plenty of leftovers.

Bob did not come over this evening. He got his cake in the oven late and by the time it came out, it was too late. I will pick him up in the morning to go with me to Independence to deliver the cakes and then while I get my hair cut he will visit with his sister, Betty. After that, we will go to Bartlesville to eat at Pies and Such.


Sunday, December 13, 2015

A Big Sunday

It was another big day today. I got up about 6:00 after a kind of fitful night of sleep and immediately started feeding Missy and myself a breakfast and then put together my coffeecake for the Church School class. As soon as I got that in the oven I wrapped the gifts for the new baby at the trailer court. I presided at church today and also led the church school class. Marilyn R went with us to church today and she took gifts for one of the children too. Bill spoke at church and he always gives us something to think about in his messages.  After church, Leslie was gone on call so John took the little girls and went to McDonald's or Sirloin Stockade. Karan and Bobby had a Christmas dinner at Bobby's church so they went there. Phyllis and Bob and Marilyn and I went to El Puebleto. Then I took them home.

I came home and sent out my Congregational letters. After I got that finished, I read awhile. I cleaned the kitchen and was about to bake cookies when Bob came over to read the paper. He stayed until 7:00 so I didn't get the cookies baked. After that, I took my bath and sat in the recliner with Missy...same routine every evening.

Keith, my older son, called and we had a nice visit. Scott had called last night. It was a good day and I am now ready to go to bed. Tomorrow is house cleaning and laundry day. Plus it's also the week we bake cakes to take to the First Christian Church in Independence on Tuesday.

So goodnight all!

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Saturday and Breakfast Out

Bob and I will go to Sirloin Stockade for breakfast this morning. We do this every Saturday morning as soon as they open at 7:30. I need to do some shopping today at Wal Mart too. I need to buy the clothes and diapers for the baby we are providing Christmas. We have about six children we are adopting as a congregation. Everyone is buying for either one of them (as I am) or something for each child. I also need to buy a few things for the church like two sizes of zip lock bags and trash bags. I will take those things out in the morning.

Myra and I had a great time yesterday. We shopped awhile and then just toured the "Christmas stores" there in Bartlesville. Her birthday is tomorrow and mine was the 2nd. So we shared a "birthday" lunch at Pies and Such. They made sandwiches with homemade toasted bread and then they have a half dozen homemade pies. I had strawberry rhubarb pie. Myra had some sort of special peach pie. I bought lunch. Myra is one of my dearest friends. 

We even went out to Radar Hill to the candle shop. That was interesting. Bartlesville's downtown is struggling too.

Bob and I will take the cakes to Independence Tuesday and while he visits his sister, Betty, I will have my color and cut at the beauty shop.  Then we will go back to Bartlesville to Pies and Such for lunch. He likes to go there too and they are not open on the weekends.  So while I was working we couldn't go there. And they close at 1:00 PM.

I forgot to take photos with Myra. I carry my camera in my purse but I just forgot to take any photos. Grrr.

More later...

Friday, December 11, 2015

Executive Orders of All Presidents

George Washington Total 8 1 7.85 unnumbered
John Adams Total 1 0.25 4.00 unnumbered
Thomas Jefferson Total 4 1 8.00 unnumbered
James Madison Total 1 0.13 8.00 unnumbered
James Monroe Total
1
0.13 8.00 unnumbered
John Quincy Adams Total 3 1 4.00 unnumbered
Andrew Jackson Total
12
2 8.00 unnumbered
Martin van Buren Total 10 3 4.00 unnumbered
William Henry Harrison Total
0
0 0.08 unnumbered
John Tyler Total 17 4 3.92 unnumbered
James K. Polk Total
18
5 4.00 unnumbered
Zachary Taylor Total 5 4 1.35 unnumbered
Millard Fillmore Total 12 5 2.65 unnumbered
Franklin Pierce Total
35
9 4.00 unnumbered
James Buchanan Total 16 4 4.00 unnumbered
Abraham Lincoln Total 48 12 4.12 unnumbered
Andrew Johnson Total
79
20 3.89 unnumbered
Ulysses S. Grant Total 217 27 8.00 unnumbered
Rutherford B. Hayes Total
92
23 4.00 unnumbered
James Garfield Total 6 11 0.55 unnumbered
Chester Arthur Total 96 28 3.46 unnumbered
Grover Cleveland - I Total 113 28 4.00 unnumbered
Benjamin Harrison Total
143
36 4.00 unnumbered
Grover Cleveland - II Total 140 35 4.00 unnumbered
William McKinley Total
185
41 4.53 unnumbered
Theodore Roosevelt Total 1,081 145 7.47
William Howard Taft Total
724
181 4.00
Woodrow Wilson Total 1,803 225 8.00
Warren G. Harding Total
522
217 2.41
Calvin Coolidge Total 1,203 215 5.59
Herbert Hoover Total 968 242 4.00 5075 - 6070
Franklin D. Roosevelt Total 3,721 307 12.12 6071 - 9537
Harry S. Truman Total
907
117 7.78 9538 - 10431
I 504 133 3.78 9538 - 10029
II 403 101 4.00 10030 - 10431
Dwight D. Eisenhower Total 484 61 8.00 10432 - 10913
I 266 67 4.00 10432 - 10695-A
II 218 55 4.00 10696 - 10913
John F. Kennedy Total 214 75 2.84 10914 - 11127
Lyndon B. Johnson Total
325
63 5.17 11128 - 11451
Richard Nixon Total 346 62 5.55 11452 - 11797
I 247 62 4.00 11452 - 11698
II 99 64 1.55 11699 - 11797
Gerald R. Ford Total
169
69 2.45 11798 - 11966
Jimmy Carter Total 320 80 4.00 11967 - 12286
Ronald Reagan Total
381
48 8.00 12287 - 12667
I 213 53 4.00 12287 - 12499
II 168 42 4.00 12500 - 12667
George Bush Total 166 42 4.00 12668 - 12833
William J. Clinton Total 364 46 8.00 12834 - 13197
I 200 50 4.00 12834 - 13033
II 164 41 4.00 13034 - 13197
George W. Bush Total
291
36 8.00 13198 - 13488
I 173 43 4.00 13198 - 13370
II 118 30 4.00 13371 - 13488
Barack Obama Total 223 33 6.83 13489 - 13711
I 147 37 4.00 13489 - 13635
II 76 27 2.83 13636 - 13711
Note: Obama EO counts are updated monthly following the 20th day of the month to recompute average per year. Orders issued between updates can be accessed here:
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/executive_orders.php?year=2015

I thought this information was interesting since there has been
so much furor over President Obama's executive Orders. 

Last Update: Data Through November 20, 2015. (through 6.83 years of the Obama Administration)